Pete Stark: “Much has been said by the distinguished chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, by the distinguished chairman of…”

“Much has been said by the distinguished chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, by the distinguished chairman of the Ways and Means Committee on how this bill helps Americans. Five million kids will receive medical coverage insurance that they don't now have. Seniors will receive preventative care with no copayments. They will receive mental health care at parity. Rural benefits will be extended to the rural communities that need assistance for access to their population. Low-income seniors will receive assistance in paying for their co-pays and their premiums. This bill is fully funded over 10 years, something my Republican colleagues never did in the past. I want to remind my colleagues that there are many myths being floated around here today. It is important to note that 83 of my Republican friends in 1997 voted for an identical bill. The bill that they voted on has the exact same income eligibility that was passed in 1997. The minority leader, the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, the ranking member of the Health Subcommittee on the Ways and Means Committee, all voted for this and included a cigarette tax to pay for it. And I might added that the reductions that they put in their Medicare bill were five times greater than the adjustments we made in the bill today. It included an increase in the Federal tobacco tax. Now I don't know what has changed.”